Keystone brassiere



March 9, 1965 c. M. SACHS ETAL KEYSTONE BRASSIERE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 27, 1962 harles M. S0chs8\ BY Edward E.Astor 9 E ATT ORNEY March 9, 1965 c, s cHs ETAL 3,172,408

KEYSTONE BRASSIERE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2'7, 1962 INVENIORS Fl 6 4 Charles M.Sochs& Edward E.Astor BY WfiE/W ATTORNEY March 9, 1965 C. M. SACHS ETAL KEYSTONE BRASSIERE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 27, 1962 FIG.6.

INVENTORS Churles M.S0chs 8 Edward E. Astor ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,172,408 KEYSTONE BRASSIERE Charles M. Sachs, Fort Lee, and Edward E, Astor, Saddle Brook, N.J., assignors to sarong, Inc., Dover, DeL, a corporation ofDelawai-e 7 Filed Dec. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 247,606 6 Claims. (Cl. 128-483) This invention is an improved brassiere which gives good control and support of the breasts and at the same time allows substantial but controlled freedom of movement. 7

The desired effect is produced by the novel construction of this invention which properly molds the breasts regardless of the bodily movements of the wearer. The brassiere gives firm control and support directly under the breasts and a controlled degree of freedom in the central section of the brassiere.

The invention contemplates a brassiere having a portion lying below the cups and covering part of the ribcage below the breasts, said portion having two overlapping bands arranged in a unique manner to give firm support coupled with controlled freedom of movement In accordance with this invention there is provided a brassiere in which the breast cups are attached to overlapping bands made of non-elastic fabric, each having the general shape of a five-sided keystone. Four sides of the keystone bands are secured to portions of the brassiere, the fifth side of each being completely free. To theright and left of each keystone band are attached two elastic members which are stretchable in a girthwise direction. This arrangement allows free expansion of the brassiere in a girthwise direction and a limited amount of movement in the vicinity of the free side of the keystone band.

These and other advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a practical embodiment of the invention. In the accompanying drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a brassiere constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1 taken on the line 22 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1 taken on the line 3-3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1 taken on the line 44 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the front of the brassiere showing the diagonal stretch characteristic of the side section.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view of the brassiere of FIG. 1 showing movement of the left breast cup and its associated keystone band.

The brassiere comprises a body-encircling band containing right breast cup 10 and left breast cup 11. Adjacent to the cups are side sections 12 and 13 made of elastic material having a one-way stretch as indicated by the arrows, and attached thereto are back bands 14 and 15, each being of circumferentially elastic material, to support the brassiere on the body. Inelastic binder strips 16 and 17 are provided with suitable fastening devices such as hooks and eyes. Shoulder straps 18 and 19 are provided with short sections 20 and 21 of elastic tape and with adjustable buckles 22 and 23 connected to loops 24 and 25 above the breast cups.

Disposed below the breast cups are elastic front panels 26 and 27 having a generally rectangular outline and having a one-way stretch in a circumferential direction as indicated by the stretch arrows. The outer edges of these panels are secured by seams 28 and 29, which have stays therein, to the front edges of side sections 12 and 13. The

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top edges are secured to the bottom edges of the respective cups.

In the central section of the brassiere, disposed below the two cups and between the two elastic front panels, are two substantially identical, overlapping, five-sided, keystone-shaped bands 30 and 31. The bottom edges of the two bands are completely joined. This may be done by sewing them together along the entire length of the bottom edges by stitching 32,'and the two sides which run upwardly from the bottom edge to approximately the midpoint of the bottom edges of the two breast cups are also sewn together. The two sides BC and DE, and the bottom side CD, are the same in each band and are joined together, as by stitching. One side BC is sewn to the inner side of front panel 26 along seam 33 and the other side DE is sewn to the inner side of front panel 27 along seam 34. A

Each band has a fourth side which is attached to the bottom edge of one cup and a fifth side which is completely free but runs along the bottom edge of the other cup.

' Thus band 30 has a top side AB attached to the bottom edge of cup 10 from a point near the connection 35 between the two cups around to the bottom of cup 10. A second top side AE which runs along the bottom edge of cup 11, is completely free. correspondingly, band 31 has side FE attached to the bottom edge of cup 11, and its side which runs along the bottom edge of cup 10 is completely free. Either of the keystone-shaped bands may lie in front of the other.

Advantageously a Waistband 36 is attached by openwork stitching 37 along the entire bottom edge of the brassiere. The waistband acts to keep the brassiere firmly in position and tends to prevent riding up of the brassiere.

One advantage of the invention is that bands 30 and 31 are capable of a distinct movement relative to each other along their free edges. FIG. 1 shows the brassiere essentially at rest, when the two keystone bands conform quite closely. When the wearer raises her left arm, tension is exerted by the left shoulder strap 19 which pulls the left cup upwardly, and in doing so keystone band 31 is caused to move upwardly and away from the free top edge of keystone band 30. The fabric of the bands is cut on the square and movement occurs when the squarecut inelastic material stretches on the bias. This is more clearly visible from an inspection of FIG. 6 where the shaded lines indicate the square of the cloth and the arrows show the stretch along the bias. A limitation upon this degree of movement is provided by the anchoring of the bands to seams 32, 33 and 34 and to the top of waistband 36 so that no untoward riding up of the bra occurs. The limited motion of the bands aids in controlling the proper separation of the breasts during exertive movements of the body and allows a stretch action in addition to the hinge action provided by connection 35 between the two cups.

The elastic front panels 26 and 27 expand in response to tensions exerted by the body, and that fact that the top edge of these front panels is attached to a bottom edge of the cups provides a firm comfortable support immediately below the cups. This firm support tends to keep the breasts in position so that they do not sag, a feature which is particularly advantageous to women who are heavy-breasted. The ability of the front panels to expand makes them adaptable to changes in the girth size which occurs with breathing, whether normal or deep, and the wearer thus obtains breathing comfort even though the keystone bands are made of non-stretch material.

When the left shoulder strap exerts substantial force upwardly, the far elastic front panel 26 stretches to diffuse part of the exerted force. At the same time, the near elastic side section 13 also moves in response to the applied force. This section, having its maximum elasticity in a diagonal direction upwardly, responds readily to the upward pull and thus helps to diffuse it. Similar but laterally opposite actions occur when the right shoulder moves upwardly. The Waistband 36 acts as a snug anchor to the brassiere and resists any tendency to ride up. This is augmented by the fact that the waistband is insulated from a direct pull by the openwork stitching 37 which stretches to some extent and thus also helps the waistband to resist any upward pull.

We claim:

1. A brassiere having a pair of right and left, joined, breast cups, a pair of elastic side sections each having a forward edge and a rearward edge, the forward edge of each side section being connected to the outer edge of a breast cup, a back band attached to the rearward edge of each side section and adapted to releasably engage the brassiere upon the body of the wearer, a pair of right and left elastic front panels connected to the outer bottom edge of the right and left' breast cup respectively and to the front edge of the right and left side sections respectively, and a pair of substantially.

identical, inelastic, five-sided overlapping bands in the center of the brassiere, one band having a first edge attached to the lower inner edge portion of the right breast cup from a point near the juncture of the two cups down to the bottom of the right cup, a second edge conforming to the inner bottom edge of the left cup but completely free therefrom and from the other band, a third edge attached to the inner edge of the right front panel, a fourth edge attached to the inner edge of the left front panel, and the other band being similarly but reversely corresponding, the bottom edges of said bands being joined to each other along their entire length.

2. A brassiere as in claim 1 wherein the front panels are circumferentially elastic.

3. A brassiere as in claim 1 wherein the side sections are diagonally elastic upwardly.

4. A brassiere as in claim 1 wherein an elastic waistband is attached to the bottom edge of the brassiere.

5. A brassiere as in claim 4 wherein the waistband is attached to the bottom edge of the brassiere by openwork-stitching.

6. A brassiere having a pair of connected breast cups, a pair of elastic side sections each having a forward edge and a rearward edge, the forward edge of each side section being connected to the outer edge of each breast cup, a back band attached to the rearward edge of each side section and adapted to releasably engage the brassiere upon the body of the wearer, elastic front panels each connected to the outer bottom edge of a breast cup and to the front edge of an associated side section, and a pair of centrally located five-sided, overlapping bands each having a first top edge attached to the bottom edge of one cup, a second top edge conforming to the inner bottom edge of the other cup but unmatched thereto, the third and fourth edges of each band being attached to adjacent edges of the said front panels and their bottom fifth edges being completely secured to each other, the said bands being of square-cut inelastic fabric capable of stretching on the bias and allowing limited movement of each cup in the vicinity of the free edge of the bands.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,513,520 Pruzan' Oct. 28, 1924 2,098,882 Robbins Nov.- 9, 1937 2,327,488 Becker et al. Aug. 24, 1943 3,093,137 Dugan June 11, 1963 

1. A BRASSIERE HAVING A PAIR OF RIGHT AND LEFT, JOINED, BREAST CUPS, A PAIR OF ELASTIC SIDE SECTIONS EACH HAVING A FORWARD EDGE AND A REARWARD EDGE, THE FORWARD EDGE OF EACH SIDE SECTION BEING CONNECTED TO THE OUTER EDGE OF A BREAST CUP, A BACK BAND ATTACHED TO THE REARWARD EDGE OF EACH SIDE SECTION AND ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY ENGAGE THE BRASSIERE UPON THE BODY OF THE WEARER, A PAIR OF RIGHT AND LEFT ELASTIC FRONT PANELS CONNECTED TO THE OUTER BOTTOM EDGE OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT BREAST CUP RESPECTIVELY AND TO THE FRONT EDGE OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT SIDE SECTIONS RESPECTIVELY, AND A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL, INELASTIC, FIVE-SIDED OVERLAPPING BANDS IN THE CENTER OF THE BRASSIERE, ONE BAND HAVING A FIRST EDGE ATTACHED TO THE LOWER INNER EDGE PORTION OF THE RIGHT BREAST CUP FROM A POINT NEAR THE JUNCTURE OF THE TWO CUPS DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE RIGHT CUP, A SECOND EDGE CONFORMING TO THE INNER BOTTOM EDGE OF THE LEFT CUP BUT COMPLETELY FREE THEREFROM AND FROM THE OTHER BAND, A THIRD EDGE ATTACHED TO THE INNER EDGE OF THE RIGHT FRONT PANEL, A FOURTH EDGE ATTACHED TO THE INNER EDGE OF THE LEFT FRONT PANEL, AND THE OTHER BEND BEING SIMILARLY BUT REVERSELY CORRESPONDING, THE BOTTOM EDGES OF SAID BANDS BEING JOINED TO EACH OTHER ALONG THEIR ENTIRE LENGTH. 